A short guide to the Jewish High Holy Days - Rosh Hashanah and Yom KippurPRI's Sound & Spirit with Ellen Kushner - The Jewish High Holiday Specialsby Jeffrey NelsonBoston, MAIn the autumn Jews celebrate their High Holidays, Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.
These are the holiest days of the Jewish year... PRI's
Sound & Spirit with Ellen Kushner offers several programs in celebration of these
Days of Awe. Here's our general guide to the What, Why and When of Jewish High Holiday celebration
- and some links to the programs so you can listen online. Even if you know most of the facts
already, we hope you?ll enjoy our personal spin, and maybe find a new detail, insight or
piece of music to enjoy.

There is no central authority in the Jewish religion - just a set of central texts, which may be
interpreted in dozens of ways (as they indeed have been!) As a result, contemporary American
Judaism is practiced in a number of different ways by different people. The scale is one of
"observance": How closely does one adhere to the ancient ritual laws?

A very observant Jew, one who is Orthodox or of the mystic sect known as Chasidic, will not even
turn on a light or use the telephone on the Sabbath (a weekly observance that begins at sundown
Friday night with candle-lighting, and ends Saturday at sundown). In the middle, Conservative
Jews will focus on their set of Jewish practices and devotions, often keeping the kosher dietary
customs and observing the major holidays, but not in the exact manner of the Orthodox or Chasidic
Jews. Reform Jews will observe a more modernist perhaps secular form of Judaism; and
Reconstructionists will take a proactive stance towards tradition, molding Judaism to meet the
their spiritual needs and the demands of contemporary life.

This diversity amonst Jews thus leads to a wide range of observance when it comes to the High
Holidays. Sound & Spirit seeks to share some of the depth and richness of these
traditions in hopes to increase understanding and appreciation of these Days of Awe.

The High Holidays--A Sound & Spirit Overview

The Jewish New Year is called Rosh Hashanah. It is observed both with religious ceremony in
the temple or synagogue, and by feasting with friends and family at home. Eight days later comes
Yom Kippur, a 24-hour period of fasting and communal prayer. The days between Rosh
Hashanah, the "birthday of the world," and Yom Kippur, the "day of
atonement" are also important. This entire period is known as the "High Holy
Days," the "Days of Awe," or simply "the High Holidays." All together
they are meant to be a time of reflection and repentance, for speaking with family and friends
about the events of the past year, and contemplating how to make the new one better.

The High Holidays are the holiest days of the Jewish year. As with Christmas and Easter for many
Christians, Jews who never set foot in a synagogue or temple at any other time will tend to make
the effort to worship in a congregation on Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.

Hebrew for "the head of the year," Rosh Hashanah is the two-day Jewish New Year
Festival on the first and second day of the lunar month that falls between mid-September and late
October.

The Story: Rosh Hashanah is the "Birthday of the World"; tradition has it
that this is the day on which God began creation. In ancient Jerusalem there was a festive celebrational
"enthronement" of God as Melek ha Olam, i.e. "King of the Universe." It's a joyous holiday, one of
celebration - though it kicks off a more solemn period.

The Customs: While the nexus of many Jewish holiday rituals is the home, for Rosh
Hashanah the community must gather in the synagogue for special services. Torah readings
include the story of the birth of Isaac (to Abraham?s 80-year-old wife, Sarah!) and
Abraham's attempt to sacrifice his son to God. The ram's horn shofar is blown
in the synagogue to "waken slumbering souls" - it can be a profound aesthetic and
spiritual experience.

On the two days of Rosh Hashanah many Jews will be in houses of worship in the morning,
and visiting family and friends in the afternoon and evening. (Not everyone observes the second
day of Rosh Hashanah, but most are serious about the first day.)

At home, people invite relatives and friends over to eat sweet things for a sweet year--slices
of apple dipped in honey (messy but yummy!) and honeycake?and to drink sweet wine. People greet each other with: Shanah Tovah!. - "[Have] a good year" - If you
want to try it, the Hebrew pronounciation is "sha-NAH toe-VAH" (in Yiddish, though,
it's "SHAW-nuh TOE-vuh"...!).

Sound & Spirit offers a program for Rosh Hashanah on the
story of Abraham and Isaac, called Fathers and Sons.

Yom Kippur - and Repentance

Yom Kippur is the holiest day of the Jewish
religious year; it is also known as the Day of Atonement. It falls on the 10th day of the
Jewish new year (anywhere from late September to mid-October) and brings to a close the Days of
Repentance that began with Rosh Hashanah.

The Story: Yom Kippur is a 24-hour fast: No food, no water. Ideally, the time is
spent in prayer, in the synagogue with the congregation, publicly praying and communally confessing
any and all "transgressions" (an untranslatable word, usually rendered as
"sins") against God and each other.

According to tradition, the Gates of Repentance are open from the beginning of Rosh Hashanah
to the last ray of sunlight at the end of Yom Kippur. When the sun sets at the end of the
holiday, the Gates close and one?s fate is sealed for the year. Another way to put it is
that at the end of the day, one hopes to have completed one's personal, spiritual and ritual
purification, in order to begin the New Year clean and fresh.

The Customs: On the eve of Yom Kippur (before sunset) one eats a final meal, and then
begins the 24-hour fast by going to the synagogue for the service of Kol nidrei, a liturgy to
remove the guilt of unfulfilled, forgotten promises made to God.

The next day is spent in prayer from dawn to dusk (though many people take a break to go home and
lie down!). Important parts of the day?s liturgy include: the Memorial Service for the dead
and the Jewish martyrs; the reading of the Book of Jonah; and the concluding service, with
its final blowing of the Shofar (ram?s horn).

Sound & Spirit offers a program for Yom Kippur, based on the day's Bible
reading called Jonah.

For Further Reading:

The Jewish Holidays: A Guide and Commentary, by Michael Strassfeld (Harper & Row,
1985) From the co-editor of The Jewish Catalogue - a lucid guide to practical and spiritual
ways of celebrating all the holidays that is both traditional and innovative.

"I use this one a lot!" - Ellen Kushner

Seasons of Our Joy - A Celebration of Modern Jewish Renewal, by Arthur Waskow (Beacon
Press, 1982) A creative guide to the Jewish holidays that blends appreciative understandings of the
Biblical and traditional roots of each holiday with innovative approaches for investing them with
new meaning, with an emphasis on feminist and ecological concerns.

Dictionary of Jewish Lore & Legend, by Alan Unterman (Thames & Hudson, 1991)
Concise entries give a basic understanding of their subjects and cross references to related
articles, in this small but invaluable book. The 222 pictures, diagrams and photos are a nice
bonus.

To Life! - A Celebration of Jewish Being and Thinking, by Harold S. Kushner (Warner
Books, 1993) The best-selling author of When Bad Things Happen to Good People and esteemed
Conservative rabbi explores the opportunities, relevance and rewards of living Judaism. Chapter 4,
"Sanctuaries in Time: The Calendar," focuses on the ways Judaism celebrates holidays.

Jeff Nelson is the Sound & Spirit Research Associate. He maintains the program website and answers listener's questions by phone and e-mail. In his spare time he's working on new ways to bring Sound & Spirit out into the community.
PRI's Sound & Spirit with Ellen Kushner is a weekly series of hour-long radio programs exploring the human spirit through music and ideas. Ellen Kushner hosts the show. It is produced by WGBH Radio Boston and distributed by Public Radio International.